Improvement in horseshoes



iniieil (giant rinvio no BERGE, or

MooERs, NEW YORK.

Lettefrs Patent No. 90,394, dated May 25, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT ny HoRsnsHoris.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part bf thesame.

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID Remmen, of Mooers, in the county of Clinton,and State of New York, have invented and made a certain new and usefulImprovenient iu Horseshoes; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, Clear, and exact description of the said invention, referencebeing had to the annexed drawing, making part of this specification,whereinvFigure l is a sideiview of my improved shoe,adaptedv to softground or light work;

Figure 2 is an inverted plan of the same; and

Fi tre 3 is a cross-section at the line x x.

Figure 4 is an inverted plan of my central call:- shoe, to be employedas a preliminary, or test-shoe; and

Figure 5 is a section of the same at the line z z.

Figure 6 is an inverted plan of the shoe, similar to that in hg. 1, butwithout the convex central plate,

and

Figure 7 is a section of the same at the line y y.

From very extensive experience I have discovered, that in most intances,the iameness of horses, or the defects of their limbs, arise from thehoot' not taking a proper bearing upon the surface oniwhich the horsestands. It is well known that the horse stands upon a level, or nearlylevel surface, the majority of 'the time; hence, lif the shoe is of theordinary character,

. with three bearing-points, the hoof will stand in 'fi/given position,regardless of whether that is the natural position of the foot totherest ofthe limb or not; hence, in eases where the shoe is notproperly made, the weight of the horse may, and frequently does comeupon the knuckle of a joint, or upon a cord, or tendon, or muscle,unduly or princii'lally, either injuring that innnediate part, orproducing some incidental injury.

in this manner the horsevis often sprained in the ankle, the knees,shoulders, or haunclies, and the defects, or diseases known as founder-jQuik-joint, ringboiie, and analogous ditiiculties, have their origin.

My invention is to prevent these diseases, remove them, or amelioriatethe defects of long-standing cases.

To effect these objects, I firstinake usc of the testsl1oe,showu infigs. 4and 5, the same being made with the hind callis a a, cross-bar d,and centre call; c.

f is a short toe-calli, set towards the back or inner edge ofthe shoe g.

The calk c is made of about the same Length as the other calks a a, andis placed as nearly as possible be low the ball, or centre of theankle-joint ot' the hoof, so that the weight of the animal is takendirectly thereon, and the hoof is free to assume a position that is themost comfortable for the other parts of the limb. l

I prefer to apply this shoe in the first instance, and

in it an injured horse can 'walk with comparative ease, and frequentlygo to his labor immediately'.

By wearing this shoe for afew days, it can be asccrtainedwhat positionthe under side of the hoof should stand to the level surface, becausethis calk cbecomes a pivot, and the foot, when at rest, has no leverageagainst it to distort any of the joints, muscles, or tendons, and a.measurement-can be takemand a'shoe made therefrom, so that the hoof willbear on the sur` face in the most comfortable position.

This'may-necessitate the use of one calk only at the rear, but, underalmost all circumstances, it is necessary to make the shoe thin at Athefront edge. j, and

Vthicker at the rear portions-t' i, as seen in figs. l and 6,

and to apply calks a a, asr in g.1,to mise up the rear portion ofthehoof.

In this last-named case, the metal plate A is employed, the same beingformed with, or attached to the shoe, and made convex on its under side,and thin towards the front part c. The rear portion p may be removednear the frog, the convexity at the rear end being almost as great asthe depth of the calks.

This shoe, having a convex under surface, allows the hoof to assume. anydesired angle to the surface on which the animal is standinghenceA thereis. but litt-le strain on any one part, the weight and 'strain` beingequally proportioned upon the' parts of the legs.

It will be evident that this shoe gives a central bearing for the hoof,allowing it to assume the most natural position, and in use the hoofrolls upon the shoe in both a forward and partially sidewise `direction, so that the joints cannot be. wrenched or strained.

It will also be evident, that if the' calk c is placed further forwardthan the position shown, it m'ust be made shorter, and that the slicemust be thinned suficiently, toward both the frontand side edges, togive the bearing as far in beneath the foot as advantageous for theaforesaid action.

I do not cla-im 'a horseshoe made with a frame, or extension for animalsthat are shorter'in one leg than the other; neither'do I 'claim a shoein which the calks are the saine length, or nearly so. on any'part ofthe shoe itself.

What I claim, and .desire to `secure by Letters Patent, is-

A horseshoe, in which the weight of the animal is taken upon a centralsupport, in the manner specified,

so as to allow the hoof to coliform to the position re-A quired hy theother parts of theleg, as set forth. A DAVID ROBERGE.A

Vitnesses:

FRANK BLocKLEY, ALEX. F. ROBERTS. f

